Training Ends

Sasuke watched Naruto's demonstration of Shurikenjutsu. Though stunned, he instinctively tried to play it cool.

"It's nothing special. It's still a long way from our Uchiha style of Shurikenjutsu."

Naruto didn't argue. He just smiled faintly, raised his hands, and formed the cross-shaped seal.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu."

With several pops, more than ten Shadow Clones appeared in an instant.

Then they scattered, moving the ten wooden targets used for Kunai practice from the center of the training ground.

Some of the Shadow Clones hid targets behind trees in the woods beyond.

Others placed them straight ahead or in blind spots around the perimeter, surrounding every part of the training ground.

Once everything was in position, the Shadow Clones vanished.

Sasuke's pupils contracted slightly.

These weren't ordinary illusionary clones. They were solid.

This was definitely a B-rank Ninjutsu, the kind of technique that even jōnin found difficult to learn...

Just how much strength was Naruto hiding?

Before Sasuke could say anything, Naruto held a Kunai in each hand and gave his wrists a light flick. In an instant, each hand held four more Kunai.

At the sight, Sasuke felt as if he'd been transported back in time, to the days when his older brother, Itachi, practiced...

Naruto closed his eyes slightly. Without even looking at his surroundings, he threw both hands forward at once.

Ten Kunai shot out, crossing and colliding in midair with crisp metallic clinks. Their trajectories were impossible to predict.

In the end, they struck the bull's-eyes of all ten targets in different positions, including those hidden behind trees and in blind spots.

Sasuke instinctively looked around at the targets, his mouth falling open as he struggled to conceal his shock.

He even hurried over to check the target behind the tree.

The Kunai had struck the bull's-eye, dead center.

This was Uchiha-style Shurikenjutsu, and Naruto had mastered it to an extraordinary degree.

Maybe even...

No!

Sasuke couldn't bring himself to think further.

He didn't want to admit it, but a voice inside him insisted that with skill like this, perhaps even Itachi...

Seeing Sasuke frozen in place, Naruto smiled faintly and asked softly, "Want to learn? I can teach you."

Sasuke gritted his teeth, his face growing a little warm. At last, he looked away and murmured in a strained attempt at calm that couldn't quite hide his awkwardness, "You're pretty good... Could you teach me?"

"Of course."

Naruto agreed without hesitation, as if he'd been waiting for Sasuke to ask.

For the rest of their time together, Naruto carefully explained the finer points of Uchiha-style Shurikenjutsu: how to apply force and calculate angles.

He also pointed out a few subtle flaws in Sasuke's Taijutsu and offered ways to improve.

Sasuke studied with intense focus. He was a genius to begin with, and Naruto's instruction helped him improve at an astonishing pace.

Though utterly exhausted, he could clearly feel that in just half a day, both his Shurikenjutsu and his Taijutsu had improved considerably.

Time flew by, and before they knew it, afternoon had arrived.

After half a day of intense training, Sasuke was so tired that he collapsed onto the ground, panting.

By contrast, Naruto's breathing was steady, as if the strenuous instruction and demonstrations had barely cost him any energy.

Sasuke couldn't help glancing sideways at Naruto, doubts rising in his mind once more.

Why wasn't he tired at all?

Just how much stamina did he have?

Seeing Sasuke sprawled on the ground, Naruto knew they'd pushed him to his physical limit for the day. "That's enough training for today. Get some rest. Tomorrow's graduation briefing is what matters."

Sasuke nodded and struggled to his feet. He looked at Naruto, who still seemed perfectly relaxed, but in the end said nothing. He only murmured, "See you tomorrow."

There was a reason Naruto had suddenly suggested they stop.

He'd noticed long ago that a familiar figure had been silently watching him and Sasuke from the woods at the edge of the training ground.

It wasn't one of the ever-present Root or Anbu.

It was Hinata.

Naruto's thoughts drifted back.

During one of his past cycles, he'd learned more about the Hyuga Clan's history in order to help Neji overcome the hatred weighing on his heart.

He'd also heard Hinata's story from her own lips.

As the eldest daughter of the Hyuga Main Family, Hinata had no taste for fighting, and so she'd never been as strong as Neji, the Branch Family's prodigy.

Of course, she was also objectively far behind Neji in talent.

That was simply a fact.

More importantly, the division between the Main and Branch Families constantly reinforced their master-servant relationship.

Neji had once sincerely vowed to protect Hinata and help her grow.

But Hinata resented being named the heir and the training she was forced to endure.

She was like a bird trapped in a cage.

Neji, meanwhile, was another "caged bird," one who had been locked away even earlier.

From birth, he'd been taught to obey the Main Family absolutely and protect them.

Young Neji hadn't understood what those words meant.

What had finally made him understand their true meaning was the death of his father, Hizashi.

That night, Hinata had been kidnapped by the head ninja of a "peace delegation" from Kumogakure.

Their target was the Hyuga Clan's bloodline and the Byakugan.

Hyuga Hiashi discovered what had happened and ultimately rescued Hinata, but he also killed the head ninja.

Kumogakure and Konoha had only just ended their war.

Kumogakure not only denied the kidnapping, but also accused Hiashi and demanded his head as compensation. Otherwise, they would go to war again.

Konoha was caught in a dilemma.

Afraid that war would break out again, the Third Hokage ultimately chose to compromise and agreed to hand over Hyuga Hiashi.

But in the end, it was Hizashi Hyuga of the Branch Family—Neji's father—who went to his death in Hiashi's place.

At Hizashi's funeral, Neji wept, and Hinata came to understand that she, too, was nothing more than another kind of "caged bird."

Hinata wanted to escape the suffocating scene.

On her way out, she encountered Naruto.

Back then, Hinata had told Naruto herself that he was like a ray of light that had entered her dark world.

But even after hearing all of this from Hinata, Naruto had mostly just repeated the steps to reconcile them over and over through his endless cycles.

It wasn't until this life, when Orochimaru's words prompted him to look back, that Naruto suddenly realized:

Those so-called reconciliations might have been nothing more than Neji resignedly accepting his fate after countless times of being powerless to resist.

The Cursed Seal of the Caged Bird remained etched on his forehead. It would only disappear when he died.

The reason Hinata had been quietly watching him from behind was simple.

In the eyes of the Main Family, no matter how talented Neji was, he was still just a servant. His ultimate fate was to die protecting them, and nothing more.

So the family's resources had always been directed toward Hinata.

Yet Hinata hated all of it—not only because of the physical exhaustion, but also because of what it did to her heart.

That was why, whenever training ended, Hinata would secretly come to watch Naruto.

Even if she only watched him from afar, she couldn't help blushing.

Because to Hinata, breaking free from the cage of fate required a key.

And the key in her eyes was none other than Naruto Uzumaki, who never gave up and always kept striving.